Today I choose Joy
by NineStoicCrayolas
Summary: Sakura can See certain things. A story about a little girl, a couple of red eyes and Death.
1. Chapter 1

So...I had another idea? At this point I'm just going with my ideas and creating a plethora of new fics.

Hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading!

\- Gh0st Girl

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Sakura remembers the first time she sees death. She is eight and It is slim and wraith-like. It is carrying a sword at Its waist that glints in the moonlight. It is leading fourteen children and an entire clan of dark-haired, dark-eyed people. She remembers the first time It looked her in the eyes. It had a film of gray over one black eye and a dark blue eye that she can see stars in. It is calm. Something that Sakura is not.

She remembers Death swishing up to her, It's feet barely touching the ground and extending a curved claw towards her face. She remembers seeing the hopeful faces of the clan behind It's spidery wings and she remembers crying for them. Death's claws touch her face and Sakura resists the urge to flinch.

'Is It going to take me too?' She wonders. Somehow, she knows that Death does not kill, it only steals life. It can _only_ steal the life from wounds and illness and old age. Sakura keeps this thought in her head and Death cocks It's pale face curiously, like It is wondering why she can see It.

'You can See?' Death asks, and Sakura knows that It (she cannot call it a person—Death is the _lack_ of person, she knows this) is confused and definitely interested.

'I can see you…and the people behind you.' She thinks. Sakura doesn't understand why It is so curious about her. Maybe she is the one that is _not normal._

Its face tilts up towards the night sky and It looks like It's searching for something. Then Death focuses those strange eyes back on her. It smiles and Sakura is rattled. Its smile is not warm or kind or fragile. It is like a sharp kunai blade, the swift sensation of oblivion.

Sakura does not like Death's smile.

'Pick one.' It says. The people behind It look up at her, even more hopeful. There's one boy, tall with curly hair and dark gray eyes that has a huge smile on his face. Sakura looks at him the most. He is different from the rest, she can tell. She can feel the age-old rage in the older people, their hatred and their sorrows. She steps forward, towards the boy, taking him in curiously.

Then she remembers that this is _not normal_ and steps back again. She looks up and stares at It again.

'Why?' She thinks, confused. 'What do you mean by Pick?'

Death looks amused and Sakura feels that she has overstepped when his claw brushes over her cheek once more.

'You are Life's child—her Chosen. You may Pick who to bring Back.' When It says the words, the people burst into a flurry of excitement. There are some who claw at her and some who plead; others cry and beg for their children. Sakura steps back and chokes out a sob.

She doesn't _want_ to Pick only one. She doesn't think it's fair. Sakura also doesn't know why she is so calm about this—she has only just gone out for a walk because her caretakers are away and she couldn't sleep. This was not normal – but Sakura doesn't know why it seems so familiar to her.

'You can only Pick one. Choose wisely.' It chuckles and Sakura looks up at It with scared, wet eyes.

'Please! Let me Take them back. All of them!' She begs and Death's eyes focus on her once again. She only looks at the night-sky blue one (she somehow _knows_ that looking into the veiled one will bring something bad) and gets on her knees.

She doesn't want the power over whom to Bring back. She couldn't make those decisions. She was not a Kami.

'You are a kind, gentle and unselfish child. Life has Chosen well this time.' It muses, before flicking Its claw back to her forehead. The claw digs down, carving a deep line just above her brow. The line is paired with another that juts back down towards her right eyebrow. Like an unfinished arrow pointing to her hairline. 'With this You are Life's chosen and My maiden.'

'What does it do?' Sakura thinks, ignoring the pinpricks of blood that slip down her face, dripping off her eyelashes.

Death smiles and Sakura shuffles her feet. 'You may Pick two.'

Sakura knows she should not ask for more.

The people – Sakura wonders if she should call them ghosts—are looking at her hungrily. Even the smiling boy looks on in interest. It is as if they can feel the life thrumming inside her and the chances she brings.

Sakura steps forward and closes her eyes. She does not know how she is doing this, only that what she is doing feels right. She waits for something (for what, she doesn't know). Then she feels it.

The sensation of a line pulling at her navel, dragging her towards something—some _one_.

The smiling boy is in front of her when she opens her eyes. Sakura realizes he has freckles on his face and a small dimple at the side of his mouth. She thinks that he is very happy.

He reaches out towards her and Sakura does nothing to stop it, only gives him a shy smile in return.

Sakura gasps when his fingers press right on her forehead and her eyes roll back in her head. For a second, nothing happens and Sakura panics – she wants to _help_ these people! She wants to take them Back—and then she is filled with something so warm and kind it leaves her breathless.

 _His name is Shisui. He was sixteen when he died. When Danzo killed him._ Sakura watches as Shisui's memories play right before her eyes. _Itachi is his favorite and he likes to go eat Dango with him. He loves the shunshin and how he can move as fast as lightning when he wants._

 _He loves his grandfather, Kagami and his mother, Kaede. He mourns their deaths greatly when they don't come back from a mission. The memorial stone is cold as he traces his hand against the names of his parents. He doesn't brush away the tears that are falling down his face._

 _Shisui loves to run. He loves the earth as it warms up. Shisui loves the sun._

 _He loves the Will of Fire and how his grandfather lived by it._

 _Shisui loves his family. He remembers Kaa-san's laugh and her bright eyes and Tou-san's big hands and loud sneezes. He remembers what it is like to be a family._

 _He sees the cliff and he feels his feet slipping as he falls off. Itachi's eyes—mangekyou eyes—are desperate in front of him, reaching at his hands, his arms. Itachi reaches him just as Shisui gives him a smile and slips off the cliff._

And then Sakura feels solid fingers touching her head and the boy blinks, obviously amazed it actually worked. Sakura herself is stunned.

Sakura feels another tug and before she can open her mouth to say something to the boy, she is pulled forward, towards another person.

The woman is beautiful. Long ebony hair hangs loosely around her waist and her warm eyes are curious and kind as Sakura gazes up at her. The fingers that drift up to touch her forehead are cool and barely-there, just like Shisui's before her.

Sakura closes her eyes and then lets loose a sharp breath when the memory-reel starts playing again.

 _Her name is Mikoto and she loves her children._

 _She loves Itachi's dark eyes and his inquisitiveness. She loves Sasuke's warmth and his soft, chubby cheeks. She loves how they talk to her and hug her and love her. She gives her children all her love and none for her husband._

 _Mikoto does not like Fugaku. Fugaku was her father's cousin's son and he thinks he is better. Better than Mikoto even though she is the one who was in ANBU before him and who the elders acknowledged first. She hates that she had to marry him. But she is thankful that he gave her the children._

 _Mikoto clenches her teeth as she is forced to do nothing but standby as her (stupid, obnoxious, arrogant) clan stage a coup. They call themselves better but Mikoto knows that is a lie. They are just different—and different did not mean better. Yet she stays still because she knows they will kill her children if she does not._

 _She is quick as she leaves a note on the Hokage's desk, signed with the code-name only she and the Hokage know about, encrypted in the ancient Warring Tribes language._

 _Mikoto loves her children._

 _Itachi slices a blade through her stomach and she reaches out as she catches a soft sob. Fugaku lays dead, eyes glazed, next to her. 'My son, my son, I will always love you.' She murmurs and she knows he's heard her when he allows for her to brush his tears away one last time. She knows that he loves her too and what he has had to do. Soft, childish footsteps are coming from the doorway and Itachi sucks in a breath when Sasuke appears._

 _Mikoto dies with horror in her stomach and her eyes catching onto her youngest son's terrified face._

Sakura is sobbing when she feels Mikoto's fingers solidify against her forehead. The woman blinks once, as if to remember that she is still alive and then smiles down at Sakura who is crying and shaking at her feet.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Sakura wails and she feels like the world is being tugged under her feet. She hates that they died this way. She hates that they _had_ to die this way through prejudice, love and duty.

If this is what it's like to bring them Back, she will do it a hundred times over. She will take all their deaths and give them life; the life they deserve. She can make them happy; reunite them with their loved ones. She will give them their lives.

'You are a kind child, Chosen.' Death says and Sakura is too happy that she has had this chance, this _something_ to change the lives of others.

'Thank you,' She gasps through her sobs and It stiffens Its wings. Sakura cringes when the howls of the people behind him finally reach her ears. They are screaming with betrayal, loss, agony. They are scared and hating.

Sakura knows now, why she has chosen Mikoto and Shisui.

It regards her like a cat before speaking 'You will not always be thanking me.'

Sakura is left sobbing on the street with Mikoto and Shisui as she watches It take the people away.

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Tell me what you guys think :) I'm a bit nervous about this one...


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next update! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

He feels it.

Even far away in that cave, he feels it.

The way the air shifted and how his head pulsed with the familiar burn and sting of revival and the stirrings of ghostly fingers.

So they have found another one.

It burns his throat and his eyes water, the wet droplets staining his cheeks. He shakes his head slowly, trying to forget century-old memories of laughter and love and betrayal.

His eyes—so tired and gaunt over the millennia—open slowly, the sclera burning with the effort. They water again and there are dark spots pulsing in his vision—in his head.

A teenager tripped over the sharp edge of a bed and he sighs. Ringed eyes take in the scarred face, the desolate, bleak eyes and his mouth hardens.

He knows he shouldn't find _him_ in the boy but he does.

He shakes his head again and then his eyes close, the force of opening them again, even if for a moment, burning.

"Get back to work, boy."

There is a stutter in footsteps and then a quick intake of breath.

"Yes, Madara-sama."

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read it. Apologies for the shortness, the next chapter will be longer!

\- Gh0st Girl


	3. Chapter 3

Because I meant to update so much sooner, I'm updating this early! Hope you enjoy!

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Sasuke was in shock. When he saw Ita— _That Man_ , in _that room_ with his parents, he was in shock. Now he is angry. He swears with bloodlust and agony that he will take _revenge_ for what _That Man_ has done. He will do anything for Him to be killed ruthlessly, just like he did to Oka-chan and Otou-sama.

Sasuke growls low in his throat as he spies another ANBU hanging around in the trees, almost out of sight. He does not want to be watched as he cleans the blood spilt on the floor, three days after the massacre in the middle of the night. He wants to mourn alone.

There is a knock on the door and Sasuke flinches. He remembers when _That Man_ would slide into the house and wait for him to run up to him.

He stomps to the door quickly and opens the key-hole to see a tiny fairy-like girl with green eyes and pale pink hair shivering at his door. Sasuke resists the urge to rip through the old wood and slice a kunai through her throat. He _does not_ wantanotherfangirl's affections. Not here.

Still, he opens the door and the girl jumps, reddening when she's caught off-guard.

"What?" He snarls and the girl flinches back. Three days ago he would've apologized profusely and given her some onigiri.

"U-Um. I-I have—"

"If it is some sort of 'love token' or 'gift' then _I do not want it!_ " He yells so loudly she falls back, hitting the ground.

Her green eyes watched him with such shock that he is painfully reminded of his mother's eyes as she died. They're the same shape with the same kindness. Sasuke resists the urge to look away. He will not cower to a girl.

"No! No! Nothing like that—I've brought them back." The girl stammers and she looks over her shoulder as two figures appear behind her in the trees.

He can't make them out from here and Sasuke grits his teeth, preparing himself to shout once more. He doesn't care who she's brought, only that she leaves him alone.

"Please! I promise it is nothing romantic or horrible or—please, you will not regret it." She begs, getting up and brushing the dirt off her pants and hair. She is tiny and fragile and Sasuke hates that it reminds him of himself.

Sasuke gives her the worst scowl he can possibly muster and the girl (somehow—she must be deranged) took that as a sign to lurch forward and grab his hand, dragging him towards the wood.

She's running so fast that he barely notices as he crosses the front yard and slips into the trees. He notices that she is constantly looking over her shoulder and her eyes are shifting and nervous. He wonders if the ANBU are watching them now.

"Here. I-I can bring two back. I hope these were the right ones." She stumbles over her words and Sasuke glares at her even harder.

"If you're wasting my time—"

"Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke freezes as his Mother slips into view from behind a tree. She is just as he remembers—eyes warm and kind, her hair drifting past her shoulders in a loose braid dressed in her Uchiha Kimono. His face turns pale and then turns back to the girl who is looking at him hopefully.

" _How dare you henge them!"_ He screams and lunges for her. But his hands are caught by—by _Shisui_.

"Sasu-chan, she brought us Back. Don't be angry for nothing." His cousin scolds, his usual smile in place as he restrains Sasuke from running up and stabbing the girl through the chest with the kunai at his hip.

But Sasuke can't breathe—can't move, because Shisui is _solid._

"Kai." He yells, looking fearfully at his cousin and mother who _should be dead._

Their images don't waver; don't even move except for his Mother's gentle smile and Sasuke feels like he has died. This is almost worse than what _That Man_ has done because this is giving him hope.

Hope that they are somehow, in some way standing in front of him _alive_ and that he is not alone.

"Kai! Kai! Kai!" He screams, tears rushing down his face because this cannot be true and he will kill the girl for doing this to him. For ripping the wound open.

"Sasuke, tenshi, we are here." His mother steps forward and lays a hand on his head. He loses a breath when he feels the warmth she's emitting.

"Kai!" He whispers one last time as his mother envelops him in a hug. She is warm, so warm, so warm and _alive_.

"How?" He gasps through his tears and his mother tugs him closer to her. His own arms reach out to tug her closer to him, until there is no space between him and his mother and he's sobbing into her shoulder.

He has missed her _so much._

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you tell me your thoughts on this fic.

\- Gh0st Girl


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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"Sakura-chan has an... ability. She can bring back people from the veil." Mikoto explains, her eyes closed as she hugged Sasuke closer to her.

Sakura is tugging at a long lock of hair and nervously glancing at Shisui who is grinning and pretending he is not crying. Shisui is ruffling his little cousin's hair and looking at him with warm eyes.

Sasuke turns to look at her, still keeping a tight grip on his mother, eyes bright with tears. She gives him a nervous smile before ducking her head and looking at her toes.

She hopes that Sasuke will be happy with the people she has chosen to come back to him.

"You brought them back?" Sasuke questions, eyes lingering on her. Sakura wants to bury herself under the scrutiny.

Even at the academy, Sasuke has never looked at her, preferring to stick with his Uchiha cousins. Sakura only knew him because he'd given her a dango stick once and she'd been ridiculously happy. Even Ino, who hated her ever since, had never given her a gift before. She nods, barely and is suddenly clenched in a tight grip.

"Thank you," Sasuke breathes into her hair and Sakura stiffens with his touch. His hands are gripping her shoulders and he's shuddering. "Thank you."

"I-It was—"She starts, trying to deny it, not used to having someone touch her with affection.

"Everything. It was everything." He whispers, leaning back and looking at her with so much gratitude and happiness that Sakura has to blink back her own tears.

She sniffles and then wipes at her eyes when she fails. "Well, I had to do something." She tells him and his just looks at her like she's given him the entire world.

"C-Can you maybe bring back more?" He suddenly asks, hope lining his dark eyes. Mikoto and Shisui look at him sadly.

Sakura shakes her head, "I'm sorry, I asked for more—but two is the limit."

"I-I hope t-that I chose right for you." She says, gritting her teeth. How Sakura wishes that she could bring them all back—even the undeserving ones. Sasuke says nothing, but moves back to his mother, grabbing her hand and Shisui's at the pulse (just to feel their hearts beating).

Sakura says her goodbyes and then walks back towards her home. Her heart beats quickly in her chest, and a tentative smile spreads across her lips, tears coming to her eyes.

Tipping her head back, she looks up at the bleak sky. " _Thank you!"_

"Thank you," She whispers.

The breeze flutters around her and Sakura imagines that the sounds are the hissing of Death's understanding.

* * *

Sasuke still cannot believe that his mother and Shisui are back with him. That the warm gray eyes of his cousin are looking at him with sparks of _life_ in them and the heartbeat of his mother is pressing against his fingertips.

They are all in the kitchen, ignoring the copious amounts of blood that is staining the floor, chewing on three-day old pieces of onigiri.

Sasuke remembers the day before the massacre when his mother was singing in the kitchen and tugging on _That Man's_ ponytail and smiling as she coaxed the rice into shape. He remembers the week before Shisui was killed—when his father was tense and angry –and _That Man's_ eyes were glazed over in thought more often than not.

"Okaa-chan…"

His mother smiles at him as he presses his fingers deeper into her warm skin. Her heartbeat is thundering underneath him, reminding him that _she is here_ and that _she is alive_.

"Yes Sasu-chan?" She asks. His mother hands another piece of cold crab to his cousin and watches Shisui eat it, ravenous.

She nods minutely, as if pleased that the boy is finally letting himself be fed.

"…Do you hate…I-Itachi?" It is a struggle to say _That Man's name_ and he does not want to spoil the warm feelings that are coursing through his chest at his Mother's return.

(He will be thankful to that fairie-girl for the rest of his life)

Shisui and Mikoto still. They knew that this would come—that Sasuke's curious nature would want to know why they weren't baying for blood the minute they'd come back—Mikoto sighs.

"No, Sasuke I do not." Mikoto says quietly. Shisui watches as his little cousin's eyes cloud over with confusion and pain.

"But Okaa-chan, I-Itachi—he, he—killed you!" Sasuke's eyes are staring into his mother's with an angry light that Shisui has not ever seen before. He vaguely wonders if this is how he would've become if that (wonderful, kind, gentle) little girl hadn't come along to bring them Back.

"Tachi-chan was in a difficult place, Sasu-chan. He could only do what he could." Shisui offers, ignoring the stern glare of his Clan Head.

His cousin deserves to know what Itachi sacrificed for his village. He cannot be lied to—Shisui knows that it will only create more rage and fury. His little cousin is, unlike Itachi, dependent on his emotions, to the extent that they would consume him if no one could stay their path.

Shisui shudders to think about the blank, emotionless ninjas of Root and how Sasuke without the aid of Danzo's training could potentially reach it—his kind, adoring little cousin does not deserve that fate.

In this, Shisui is even more grateful to the little fairie girl than ever before.

"But he killed you all! I h-had to re-live all of your deaths, over and over in my nightmares! I saw your bodies decorating the floor, your eyes lifeless and glazed over— _how can you forgive him for this!_ " Sasuke finally yells, tears slipping down his cherub face.

The onigiri in his cousin's fist is squished, tomato splattering across the cherry-wood table. Sasuke is breathing hard, his mouth open and turned in a painful mix between a snarl and a sob. The once adoring, warm black eyes are wide-open, dripping in tears and contain so much rage that Shisui winces.

Mikoto straightens up and passes a smooth hand of the back of Sasuke's head, bringing him closer to her chest. Sasuke follows easily, too happy to be in the arms of his mother, biting his lips in agitation.

"Tell me why Okaa-chan!" Sasuke whimpers into his mother's shoulder.

The boy's frame is shuddering with emotion and Mikoto curls herself around him before looking out of the window. It is raining outside and the trees are swaying with the weight of the water and the intensity of the swirling wind.

At a crack of thunder, Mikoto speaks.

"Itachi is my son as well, Sasuke." Shisui grimaces at the tensing of his cousin's frame, "You are blinded by your rage and sorrow—look underneath. Tell me why did Itachi spare you?"

"Because he said _I was weak_ and that I was not _worth_ his time!" Sasuke yells angrily, clenching his tiny hands into fists.

Mikoto murmurs smooth nothings into her son's ears and Shisui takes the time to excuse himself and make a cup of tea.

"Sasuke…if Itachi wanted to kill you, he would've. The children of our clan were slaughtered—even the weak newborns, the tiny toddlers—you were stronger than they were. Tell me why, if Itachi thought you were weak, why did he slaughter those children and not you?"

Sasuke stills in his Mother's embrace and fresh tears prick his eyes.

"I-I don't know Okaa-chan…why… _why_ did he do it?" Sasuke cries out, feeling so lost and confused that Mikoto immediately presses her lips to the crown of his head.

Another crack of thunder rolled over their heads and Shisui finally comes back into the kitchen, armed with three cups of steaming green tea, some wet tomatoes from the garden and a soft smile.

Mikoto looks at him gratefully before gesturing for him to drink his tea. Kind black eyes refocused on Sasuke and Shisui took a sip of hot tea, relishing in the ability to _feel_ the heat pass through his body and into his stomach.

"Sasuke…I knew Itachi was going to massacre the clan—but this was the _only_ way we could avoid a civil war." Sasuke stiffened and drew back, eyes open and almost afraid, "You see…Fugaku, your father, was a greedy, greedy man. He was never satisfied with what he had, he always wanted more power, more pledges of allegiance—and our elders agreed with him. We were a powerful clan, full of proud (too proud, sometimes) people. Itachi was their pride and joy, their fabled warrior, their most powerful shinobi since the era of Madara and Izuna—but to me, he was my child, my son—I was forced to watch him go to war at _four years old_ , Sasuke."

At this, Mikoto stills and wipes away the trails of tears that have appeared on her cheeks. Shisui passes her a cup of tea and she smiles weakly before taking a long sip. Sasuke is watching her with an unreadable gaze and twitching fingers.

Mikoto looks away towards the window and frowns, watching the trees shake under the pressure of the gale. The wind howled outside and she was glad that all of her family was safe inside—she only worried for the fairie girl—she had looked thin and pale and worried.

Shisui's gentle movements brought her back to the present and Mikoto turns back to her youngest son—yearning sorrow lining her eyes.

She breathes deeply and then steels herself.

Sasuke had the right to know about his brother—she only wished that he could've been spared the pain at such a young age.

"At four years old, my baby was at the front lines, killing _full grown_ adults and other children—the youngest they had out there were two year olds (Two year olds, Sasuke, can you imagine?) Itachi came back with the sharingan and he was very quiet. Fugaku was thrilled—he didn't understand, _didn't care_ about the carnage that he made us send our son to. I had tried to stop them, begged him to let Itachi stay home and he not offer his son to a vicious war, but they told me that I had a duty to the clan to let this happen—I was preparing to go out there myself, but then I was pregnant with you, my little dove."

Shisui clenches his fists as the part of the story that he was familiar with was coming up. Mikoto slips a hand under the table and he grasps it tightly, remembering that that part of his life is _over_ and that he is _safe_ and with family.

Sasuke watches on with tear-bright eyes and a heavy mind. He does not know what to think of this story yet—he will need time to digest this.

Mikoto closes her eyes and then begins anew. The storm raging outside is nearly drowning out her words but she makes sure Sasuke can hear her.

"I got pregnant with you and Fugaku forbid me to go—not that I was going to—I would never endanger my children's lives. So…I asked Shisui to look over him. Your cousin was fast and strong and only three years older—I loathed to send another child so young into such a carnage-filled war—but it was the _only_ way I could protect my son. I made sure to go to the Hokage, begging for Shikaku Nara to be on their team, he owed me a favor, and I knew that he would never let himself come home without those two."

Mikoto took another long dreg of tea and licks her chapped lips. "Itachi and Shisui came home, both changed –one quieter and more pensive and the other, more appreciating of the life around him—and Fugaku was _proud_ of the change. (At this Mikoto scoffs and her lips curls with the rage she is feeling against her late husband—the gods damned _fool._ ) As if sending children to war and watching them come home different, mutilated and changed is a good thing. And then you were born and Itachi _adored_ you. I think you reminded him of the innocence in the world and how people couldn't always be selfish when they had people to protect. Fugaku, by that point, was enraged at Itachi's obedience towards the Hokage—he hated that Itachi had made ANBU at only thirteen, he had been ready at ten, was his constant argument –and he and the elders began planning to overthrow the Hokage."

Sasuke trembles against his Mother's lap and his eyes close.

Shisui watches on with terrible knowing eyes and a sad smile.

"Itachi and I went to the Hokage—we begged for him to find some way to stop this. Hiruzen (Shisui raises his eyes at the level of familiarity Mikoto has with the Third) agreed and we were beginning to plan a way around senseless slaughter and the Clan's ridiculous notions of grandeur…when Danzo came into the picture. I'm not sure if you remember but there was a big fuss a couple of weeks prior to the massacre—the Hokage had gotten sick, some out-of-the-country disease –and Danzo was put in office for the duration of the month. He found the papers we had drawn up requesting for the Uchiha clan to become part of the Inner council and to integrate themselves into Konoha's society so that we wouldn't experience the accusing stares and sneers that we were so accustomed to—I have said, many times before, our clan is, _was_ , proud—and it was not always good."

Here Mikoto takes another deep breath and a sheen of tears come to her eyes. Shisui's jaw tightens and looks way, blinking rapidly.

The rain is lessening now and the crescendo of thunder is approaching with more rapidity. Outside, birds flock in trees and jump when they hear the sickening crack of lightening.

"Shisui died then. Fugaku had planted him as a spy in Root and Itachi and himself were keeping correspondence to properly plan around more bloodshed. Danzo figured him out and killed him—taking one of his eyes. Itachi gained the Mangekyou and then Danzo, abusing his authority as the potential Hokage, ordered the slaughter of the entire clan. The Third was too sick to stop it and the council, the old, terrified fools that they were—agreed."

Mikoto closes her eyes and a sob makes its way to her chest, her shoulders shaking with anger and sorrow. Sasuke tightens his grip around his Mother's waist and buries his head into the crook of her neck. Mikoto wraps her arms even tighter against her son and Shisui hovers over them, taking worried sips of tea, occasionally rubbing Mikoto's back when her shudders became worrying.

"I knew my life was forfeit—I hated Danzo with every fiber of my being and he thought that I would never bow down to help Konoha—but Itachi and I begged for yours. It took two days and three nights to convince him to let you live—our little angel, so full of warmth and light and innocence. The night Itachi came in to kill us your father made to beg him to spare us but I could only look at him with love and respect—I couldn't, was not allowed, to do anything to aid him or take away the burden of this responsibility. If I helped, they would've killed you too. So I was forced to watch as Itachi slaughtered my husband and I could do nothing to make the pain any less."

"And then I came in…" Sasuke finishes somberly, new tears shining on his cheeks as he watches Shisui blink at his tea and rub his Mother's shuddering shoulders.

His mother lifts her kind, sorrowful black eyes towards his, wet with tears. "And then you came in and I died knowing that you had _seen_ what Itachi had done and that you would forever hate him unless the plot came to light."

Shisui clears his throat and rubs the back of his hand over his eyes. Watching Mikoto tell his young, innocent cousin the story of their bloodthirsty history has made him relive it with new pain.

 _But_ , he makes sure to remember, _those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it._

"B-But…how? How are you alive then?" Sasuke warbles out when he has gotten some sort of control over the tears and the desperation, confusion and agony concentrated in his chest. "That girl—she's only at the academy, in my class—was it a jutsu? Why only you and not the others?"

Shisui shook his head, speaking up now that Mikoto had finished her story. "We don't exactly remember that much…I only began recalling anything when I touched her mark and my fingers grew solid. I don't know _how_ she did it…just that she was crying and that she wanted to bring us all Back."

Mikoto is silent as Shisui and Sasuke look over to her, questions in their eyes.

Finally, after several long minutes of silence and quiet curiosity, Mikoto speaks.

"Do you remember the bed time stories I used to tell you about the old Byakugan sealers?" Mikoto asks quietly.

At Shisui and Sasuke's quick nods, she continues.

"The Hyuuga started sealing up their branch members' Kekkei Genkai because—"

A knock sounds on the door and Mikoto frowns. Shisui is the one to flicker to the door and open it, gray eyes opening in curiosity.

The ANBU messenger that had called for the door, jerked back slightly in surprise and if it weren't for the mask, then the Uchihas would see the shock spinning in his eyes and his mouth going slack in confusion.

"Yes?" Shisui presses as the ANBU messenger tries to reel in his utter shock and confusion at finding both _Shisui Uchiha_ and _Mikoto Uchiha_ alive.

Especially when their funeral service was the day before.

"U-Uh…" And then composing himself, because this is _way_ above his paygrade, he says "The Hokage summons you."

Mikoto frowns and Shisui dismisses the ANBU. They clean up the onigiri and the now-cold tea that Sasuke hasn't touched and make their way towards the Hokage tower, ignoring the incredulous stares and the gapes that they receive as they walk briskly.

* * *

Enjoy! Tell me your thoughts :)


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